Journalists in the firing line

24 July 2014, 15:02

Paula Slier, Harry Fear and Graham Phillips

Paula Slier

Considering that Snuki Zikalala did not want to give South African reporter Paula Slier a post reporting in the Middle East because she is "Jewish," and he believed that this would contribute to her bias, Paula, if anything, is one of the most unbiased journalists on the beat. So unbiased in fact that she is not a regular on such platforms as CNN, BBC or even Al Jazeera, she has instead found a platform for her work on Russia Today.

Say "Russia Today," to most people and they start screaming "Reds Under The Beds!," "Hier kom die communissssssssss en die terrorisssssssssss!"

The cold, hard fact is this. Western media has abandoned the integrity that journalists once stood for. Western media is no longer based on truthful , accurate, honest and fair reporting. It has instead, become a propaganda medium for politicians and corporations who want to steer public opinion into a direction that is more often than not criminal, in order to carry out their intentions, that are more often than not against international law.

In 2013 Paula Slier bravely covered the atrocities carried out by the "rebels," in Syria against the Syrian people. These "rebels" funded by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the USA, were portrayed as "freedom fighters" fighting to overthrow Asaad. Paula's stance was at odds with Main Stream Media, she was reporting the facts on the ground. Unlike MSM, Paula was on the right side of history.

A false flag was engineered to kill Syrians with Sarin Gas, blame it on Asaad and then call for a no fly zone and bomb Syria into the stone age. As it turned out, it was the "rebels" who abducted women and children from a village, later murdered them, then set off Sarin Gas. By deception ye shall wage war.

Today both Syria and Iraq sit with a group called ISL, trained in Jordon by US forces, funded by Saudi Arabia and Qatar and causing havoc across the region. So, who are the "terrorists"now?

In 2014 Paula covered Eastern Ukraine. She covered the referendum in Donesk and Lugansk, she covered the bombing of Slaviansk, she covered the invasion by the Kiev Junta and witnessed the shooting, bombing and killing of innocent civilians. She spoke to the self defence forces of Eastern Ukraine. Paula stayed until the last moment and left when almost half a million women and children fled as refugees to the safety of Rostok and Crimea and the refugee camps provided by Russia. Again I believe, Paula Slier is on the right side of history.

Harry Fear

In November 2012 Harry Fear bravely stayed in Gaza during operation Pillar of Defense. At first his independent news reports were only found on his You Tube channel and his twitter feed. Harry was one of the first to read out the names of the dead Palestinians. He meticulously and respectfully acknowledged each and every one of them them every day.

In 2012 most people did not understand the nature of drones. On many evenings, Harry would leave the line open just so people could hear what it was like to live in Gaza. The sound of the bombing all night was bad enough, but it was the drones constantly buzzing , tormenting and terrorising the population that gave relevance and reality to his broadcast. One night in Gaza makes an arrogant man humble.

The only major news channel that picked up on his reports was Russia Today. Now, in July 2014, when Israel is yet again bombing Gaza back into the stone age, Harry Fear is back in Gaza, on the ground, with honest, accurate, truthful and fair reporting. And again Russia Today has given him a platform.

Graham Phillips

In March 2014, when the people of Crimea had a referendum, and 95 percent voted to rejoin Russia with 5% voting to remain in Ukraine, the MSM was screaming headlines "Putin Invades Crimea!" Nothing could have been further from the truth. On the 8th of May, Victory Day, the whole of Crimea turned out to celebrate, waving flags and welcoming Putin. None of them had guns held to their heads.

Graham Phillips, another young independent journalist, armed with only his You Tube account, covered the referendum in Crimea as well as the situation in Eastern Ukraine and in Odessa. One of the most heart breaking moments for those who followed him, was his coverage of a man from Kramatosk whose shop had been bombed by the Kiev Militia. He was sifting through the rubble trying to recover as much as he could, which was barely nothing, and crying. He had lost everything.

Graham's accurate, honest, truthful and fair reporting, which was on the ground , and filming and reporting on the facts as they happened, was contrary to the screaming headlines around the world calling the people from Eastern Ukraine "terrorists" and accusing Russia of an invasion. Graham attracted the attention of Kiev and he was warned by the defence militia of Eastern Ukraine that a bounty of $10,000 had been put on his head. He was finally arrested by the Kiev militia at a check point and then disappeared. Through the demands of social media and letters to the British Embassy in Kiev, he was released and sent back to the UK.

Graham has returned to Eastern Ukraine and is now in Donesk. However, as of the 23rd of July he has disappeared again. He has been abducted by the Kiev Junta. One hopes that the $10 000 bounty on his head is no longer available. His abduction was reported by... dare I say it? Russia Today.

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